Worried sick

Chrisvr6

Member
Sep 6, 2016
192
Chicago
Boat Info
2002 280da
Engines
Twin 5.0mpi
I used that 5 gallon jug kit from amazon for my 5.0mpi's. Am worried sick because of reading all the horror stories. I ran 5 gallons of -75° through them only after brought up to temp and didn't drain anything out afterwards. So i ending up making a trip out to the cold indoor storage place where my boat is once it got below zero for about a week. I then removed the 4 blue plugs on each motor and antifreeze came out. I should be good right?
 
I used to winterize my 220 SD the same way. Bring up to temperature, turn value from water hose to anti-freeze, watch anti-freeze go down, wait for a good flow of pink stuff to come out exhaust and shut down. I would say you're good.
 
I hope everything will be just fine for you, but I've personally seen things crack if done that way. In order to use the "jug" method, you MUST drain the engine/manifolds before pumping the AF through... and really, the t-stat should be removed, as well. If not, you're really only get some "mix" of AF/water in the engine, and some places may not even get that mix.

I'm not sure who recommended that method (youtube?) but it's always better to be safe than sorry. Especially when you're dealing with a multi-thousand dollar investment. Believe me, if it were as simple as what "they" say it is to winterize, we'd be doing it at the place where I work (about 400 winterizings each year).

That said, the "real" way is pretty simple itself - Takes all of about 15 or 20 minutes to GUARANTEE everything is safe. On the flip side, about 15 years ago I was talking to a friend in the springtime who asked me about this winterizing "thing" for boats. When I asked him if he did that, he said "No, is that something I should do every year"? We had a typical winter (plenty cold enough) but he didn't suffer any cracks anywhere. Go figure!

Again, I hope everything is OK for you. Even though it's cold indoor storage, that "might" be your saving grace as it doesn't get as cold, as quick.

What type of drainage system do you have? Do you also have a blue plug in the block hose and the fuel cooler?
 
If you're in Chicago and like me in Detroit, the temperature hasn't been below 32 for a while. If the liquid coming out of the block (I assume the blue plugs you mention were in the side of the block) was just that., flowing liquid, nothing is frozen. If you pull the plugs and nothing came out, I'd be worrying.
 
As mentioned this way is flawed. If you didn't get the tstat open, none of it went to the block. If it was open, it can go shut anytime and you wouldn't know.
Always drain the block first, completely. Then run just on antifreeze. It will fill the block before it bypasses at the tstat and goes out the exhaust.
 
On raw water cooled gas motors I always drained the blocks and manifolds, then pulled the hose off of the T stat housing and poured the antifreeze in to that hose.
Inspect and reattached hoses, tightened clamps and waited for Spring.
Another method I used several times when I pulled the drives for the winter was to jam a hose in to the intake on the transom assembly and pump the antifreeze in that way.
Never had a problem with either method.

While it would have been better to drain the blocks and manifolds, I think you’re fine. You got some antifreeze in there and the motors are out of the icey cold wind.
 
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Chris I would definitely listen to these other guys before me. I'm not a mechanic and I don't winterize my current boat, I have the marina do it. I did winterize my 190 (4.3)and 220 (5.0) SD's for a lot of years doing it with the anti-freeze jug on the swim platform method. I would always watch my temp gauge and make sure it cycled the thermostat a few times before switching the value. Sounds like I got lucky for a lot of years....
 
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That is the quickest way to replacing your cracked block. Without draining the water your only diluting the AF in the engine and taking your chances on a crack.
If you belive you did it correctly get a sample of whats in the block and manifolds and have it tested for the freeze temp or put it in your freezer.If it freezes , you did something wrong
 
Drain and then fill from the thermostat hoses is the only way to ensure 100% that you have anti-freeze in the block.
 
Drain and then fill from the thermostat hoses is the only way to ensure 100% that you have anti-freeze in the block.

Not to single out OP because lots of people do the bucket method but in my opinion the drain the block and fill through tstat hose method is actually faster that running the engine, so I really don’t see the draw of the bucket. I suppose you don’t have to climb in the bilge?
 
Not to single out OP because lots of people do the bucket method but in my opinion the drain the block and fill through tstat hose method is actually faster that running the engine, so I really don’t see the draw of the bucket. I suppose you don’t have to climb in the bilge?
Another thing to keep in mind is that it's hard to time the "fogging" of the engine using a bucket. I suppose you could time how long it takes to run 5 gallons through... but that's becoming more complicated. For a carb'd engine it would be easy enough, but Merc is very specific in the timing for a fuel injected engine.
 
Another thing to keep in mind is that it's hard to time the "fogging" of the engine using a bucket. I suppose you could time how long it takes to run 5 gallons through... but that's becoming more complicated. For a carb'd engine it would be easy enough, but Merc is very specific in the timing for a fuel injected engine.

Absolutely, I run the cocktail through our EFI's by putting it into the screw on fuel filter while on muffs right after haul out. Once that's done, the engines are shut down for the year. Drives immediately come off for service and I pull the blue plugs. We haul out with at least a few weeks to freezing temps, so I usually take my time to get back to the boat and fill with AF through the hoses, which really only takes an hour for both engines.
 

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